Abstract
PURPOSE: Adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) is recommended to women with hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer for 5-10 years to reduce recurrence risk and mortality, but adhering to ET for this full period is challenging, with adherence lower in Black women and those under 50. We sought to understand how participation in a patient-centered counseling intervention affected health-related quality of life (HRQoL), recurrence worry, and treatment related symptoms.
METHODS: We conducted a single arm pilot study over a 12-month period, consisting of five counselor-led motivational interviewing (MI) counseling sessions. Eligible participants were over 18 years old, English speaking, and had stage I-III HR+ breast cancer. Survey data collected at baseline and 12-months assessed HRQoL and cancer recurrence worry. Endocrine symptoms were assessed at the 12-month time point, reported descriptively, and age-stratified to examine if symptom burden and age were related.
RESULTS: Of the 42 women who initiated the intervention, 35 completed the baseline and 12-month surveys. Most participants were over 50 (63%), non-Black and non-Hispanic (63%; 97%). Overall patient-reported anxiety and depression decreased, though only the change in anxiety was statistically significant. Cancer worry increased slightly among participants. The most reported endocrine symptoms were hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, disinterest in sex, and joint pain, with no significant differences by age.
CONCLUSION: This study shows early promise in the efficacy of MI to improve patient-reported HRQoL and treatment-related endocrine symptoms.